Good morning, readers. As July turns to August, so we turn to these requests. Our family is, so to speak, off the grid this week, so these requests are based mainly on discussions around our vacation table. Here are the recipes we have been searching for and talking about: fresh tuna recipes, a sauce for tuna and other fish that contains soy sauce, lime juice, garlic and ginger; lemon desserts that contain no flour and lemon or lime desserts that contain no sugar.
In her missive this week, Marilyn Hoke served up breakfast with a history, in responding to the request for a sausage/cheese breakfast casserole.
She explained: "I obtained this recipe from the innkeepers at a bed-and-breakfast in Lexington, Va., when my son was a student at Washington and Lee University. Bea and John Stewart prepared a delicious breakfast every morning at The Keep and shared many of their recipes."
Hoke said this recipe and others for wonderful brunch dishes can be found in the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts cookbook, "Party at the Houston," which now is in its third printing. Requests for a copy may be made by calling the museum at 267-7176 or by visiting the museum, 201 High St., between noon and 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
Wrexham Hall Brunch Bake
3 cups spoon-size shredded wheat
11/2 pounds sausage, cooked and drained
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
8 eggs
13/4 cups milk
1/4 cup white wine
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 green onion, minced
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Pepper
Butter a 9- by 13-inch pan. Spoon into pan in layers cereal, sausage and cheese. Beat eggs and mix in remaining ingredients. Pour over the layers, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Let the dish come to room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Bake at 325 F for approximately 70 minutes (until browned and cooked through).
Lennis duBain's recipe for Congo bars is, she thinks, the same as the Congo squares that you requested.
Congo Bars
2/3 cup shortening
1 (1-pound) box brown sugar
3 eggs
23/4 cup all-purpose flour
21/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts
Melt shortening. Add sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Beat well. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Add chocolate chips and nuts. Bake in a greased 9- by 13-inch pan in a preheated 350 F oven for 25 minutes or until done.
Nubia Solomon sampled this salad recipe and says this now is her family's favorite version of the perennial summer favorite entree.
Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich With Almonds and Raisins
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 11/2 pounds total)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise, plus extra, if you like, for spreading
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup chopped, blanched almonds, toasted
1/4 cup raisins
Handful fresh basil leaves, torn
8 slices good-quality, dense white bread such as Tuscan
Heat oven to 400 F.
Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Sprinkle the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Put them in the pan in a single layer, and brown them 2 minutes on each side. Put the skillet in the oven and roast until the chicken is just cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and cool.
Chop the cooled chicken and put it into a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, and toss. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread 4 bread slices with mayonnaise, if you like, and spread with the curried chicken. Top with another slice of bread.
What better ending to a July meal than ice cream. Thanks to longtime Exchanger Pat Pelfrey for finding a cream cheese ice cream and adding her favorite vanilla ice cream and a Milky Way version.
Cheesecake Ice Cream
21/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
24 ounces cream cheese (3 8-ounce blocks) cut into 1-inch blocks
Mix sugar, eggs, evaporated milk, lemon juice and vanilla together. Pour half of mixture into a blender or food processor; add half of the cream cheese blocks. Process until smooth. Pour into 1-gallon freezer container. Repeat with rest of mixture and other half of cream cheese blocks. Then fill to line in freezer container with whole milk.
Freeze as directed.
Pat Pelfrey's Standby Vanilla Ice Cream
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1/2 gallon whole milk
2 cans Eagle Brand condensed milk
Whole milk to fill freezer container
Put eggs, sugar, vanilla, 1/2 gallon milk into large bowl, and beat well; strain into freezer container. Add condensed milk; stir well. Fill to line with whole milk. Freeze in crank style or electric freezer as directed.
Milky Way Ice Cream
12 regular size Milky Ways, chopped into bite-size pieces for easier melting
1 small can Hershey's chocolate syrup
1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
Whole milk to fill container
Melt Milky Ways in top of double boiler. Add chocolate syrup and condensed milk. Cool completely. Add about 1 quart of milk to candy mixture, and mix well. Pour into freezer container, and add milk to fill line. Freeze as directed.
We have been discussing homemade ice cream at our house this week. What is your favorite method of making ice cream? Please weigh in with the rest of us, and we will continue to learn from each other next week and beyond.
To Reach Us
Fare Exchange is a longtime meeting place for people who love to cook and love to eat. We welcome both your recipes and your requests. Be sure to include precise instructions for every recipe you send.
• Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750.
• E-mail: janehenegar@gmail.com.
• Fax: 423-668-5092.